Trapped In A Box
by Mac-alicious
Summary: Flashfic Challenge Entry for Jo This is just great. I'm trapped in a, a box with you! A little late, but here it is.


**A/N:** This is my entry for the Dec-Jan Flash Fic contest. I got Jo as my person. I picked her first request.

_1. Dasey. Derek and Casey stuck in a small room on a houseboat. Must include Marti in some way. Because Marti's awesome._

I know nothing about houseboats so bear with me in that area. A few little things. The beginning is a scene that will reappear later on in the story with more description (rather than all dialogue). Um once Derek and Casey are in the room, fully italic phrases are coming from the other side of the door. And the part where they first get locked in the room, where their dialogue is like single words cut off…that represents them fighting but where they're talking over each other. And let's just say Nora & George are conveniently on the deck while this all went on. Anyway, I'm not exactly happy with this. Not my best, but whatever. Enjoy. R&R! Thanks. –Mac

**Disclaimer:** I don't own LWD.

**Trapped In A Box**

"This is all your fault."

"Ha! Funny, Case."

"I'm _dead_ serious, Derek."

"This is not my fault. If anything, it's _your_ fault."

"_My _fault?! How is this my fault?"

"Oh, come on Casey! If you didn't nit pick everything I do…"

"Well if you would just _try_ and put some effort into something_ productive_…"

"Eck, if you would just stop thinking you can boss me around however you please…"

"Boss you around? As if The Great Derek Venturi would ever listen to anything I have to say. You know, that's part of the problem…"

"_Will you two just shut up already?!"_

"_This whole fight for superiority is getting old."_

"Ed—"

"Lizzie—"

"Open the door!"

"_No can do." _

"Look, we'll stop fighting. Won't we, _Derek?_"

"_Yes_. Now, Edwin, open the door."

"_I repeat: No. Can. Do."_

"And why not?"

"_It seems someone's scampered off with the key."_

"MARTI!"

-+-+-+-

**Earlier That Week**

"A boat?" Casey cringed, that being the response to her mother and George's announcement.

"A houseboat." George corrected, "Room enough for all of us, if we don't mind the close quarters."

"Oh, we mind." Derek grumbled under his breath.

Casey piped up again, "I thought this vacation was supposed to be about going to the beach, seeing the ocean…"

"What better way to experience the ocean than to live on it." Nora cut her off. "Besides, it's only for the first weekend, then you guys have a whole week to do whatever you want."

Derek perked up at that, "_Whatever_ we want?"

"Not _whatever_ you want." George looked pointedly at his son, "But yes."

Derek shrugged and hopped out of his chair, as he passed by Casey, he patted her on the head, "Hope you don't get sea sick."

"Der-_ek_!"

Nora sighed, "And once we're out there, could you two _try_ not to fight?"

Edwin chuckled, "As if that's gonna happen."

Nora and George both turned a stern look onto Edwin, who was still laughing. George had one eyebrow quirked as he regarded his younger son. Lizzie quickly nudged Edwin to get his attention. He had yet to notice the parental stares.

As he looked up, he immediately choked down the laughter. "What? It's true."

-+-+-+-

It took approximately three minutes for Derek to start complaining. Four, for Casey to begin scolding him for ruining the trip for everyone. Five, for the two to be at each other's throats. Nora sighed and moved farther into the boat, followed by George. Edwin mumbled something that sounded like 'I told you so,' as he passed. Lizzie followed, rolling her eyes, and asked sincerely if she could throw them overboard. Marti just shrugged and began to skip a circle around the two arguing teens. Eventually, Casey let out a frustrated growl and stalked away, leaving Derek with his classic smirk upon his lips.

The fighting only escalated. Just like at home, the two were fighting about everything. _Everything_. It came to a head the middle of the second day on the _house_boat. Lizzie and Edwin were lounging in the small living area of the boat, where they had a front row seat for the Venturi-McDonald Verbal Smackdown that was likely to occur in 5, 4, 3, 2…

"Der-_ek_!"

"Geez, calm down Case." Derek chuckled. He was currently munching on half a sandwich he had stolen from Casey's plate. "It's just a sandwich."

"_My_ Sandwich." Casey snapped.

"I beg to differ." Derek responded, taking a large bite. Then through a full mouth. "I think it's _my_ sandwich. But if you want it back…" Derek stuck out his tongue at Casey.

Casey recoiled, "You're disgusting." She pushed her plate away. "Thanks for killing my appetite."

"You're welcome." Derek smirked pulling her plate toward him.

"Gah!" Casey shrieked. "You are seriously repulsive."

"You know, the general opinion of me is that I am attractive and quite irresistible."

"As if." Casey stood from her seat and walked away.

"_As if."_ Derek mocked in a high pitch voice, stood and followed after Casey.

Casey rolled her eyes as she pulled open the door to the small room they were using to store their things—luggage, and some non-perishable foods. It was at a point in the boat where the roof of the boat slanted, making it impossible for her to stand up straight as she moved further into the room, which wasn't saying much considering the size of the room. Despite the fact that the room _barely_ fit two people with difficulty, Derek followed her in.

"Do you _need_ something, Derek?" Casey rounded on him, her hands on her hips. Derek began to laugh. The stance may have been more intimidating if she was hunched half over.

"Wow." Derek choked out through his laughter. "I have never seen something so _threatening_!"

"Shut up, Derek." Casey rolled her eyes. "Now scurry along."

"No." Derek crossed his arms over his chest, and let a smirk settle in on his face. _Challenge_.

"I refuse to fight a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent." Casey smiled sardonically, matching Derek's stance.

Derek snickered, "Original."

"As if the slacker extraordinaire could do much better."

"Watch me." Derek challenged.

"Wouldn't it be _'hear_ me?'" Casey returned.

"You would know."

"Keep proving my point—"

"You condescending—"

"—inconsiderate—"

"—hypocritical—"

"—egotistical—"

"—psychotic—"

"—arrogant—"

"—sh—"

The sound of the door sliding closed and the lock clicking into place caused them to halt in their argument. They both whipped around to look at the door. Casey moved forward and tried the doorknob—locked. She knocked loudly on the door.

"Lizzie, I know you're out there. Open the door." Casey called through the door.

"_No_." Lizzie called back.

"_We'll let you out when you can be in the same room together without fighting._" Edwin's voice followed.

Derek moved forward, standing nearly on top of Casey to yell through the door, "Edwin, open this door!"

"_No._"

"When I get out o there, Ed, I'm going to kill you." Derek slammed his fist on the door.

Edwin's laughter filtered through the door, joined soon after by Lizzie's, "_Good luck with that._"

Casey shrugged away from Derek and moved to the backside of the room, "This is just great. I'm trapped in a—" casey gestured around the room, "—a box, with _you_!"

"Don't worry. The feeling is _entirely _mutual." Derek responded.

-+-+-+-

**Two hours later**

Lizzie and Edwin had listened to Derek and Casey argue for awhile before they decided to occupy their time with something else. They were playing cards not far from the room, and they could still hear the argument faintly trickling through the door. When they were in the middle of their second game of War, Marti skipped into the room, humming loudly and off key. She stopped in front of Lizzie and Edwin and tilted her head to the side.

"Where are Smerek and Casey?" She asked.

"In there." Edwin gestured over his shoulder never pausing in his game with Lizzie. "We locked them in until they stop fighting."

Marti turned to observe the door. She took a few tentative steps forward. Derek and Casey were definitely in there—she judged from the sound of them fighting. It was then that she noticed the key protruding from the lock. Curious as she was, she stepped closer to get a good look at it. Her lips curled into a grin that proved her relation to Derek. Cautiously glancing over her shoulder to make sure Edwin and Lizzie were still engrossed in their card game, Marti snatched the key from the door and ran from the room.

Awhile later Lizzie and Edwin approached the door to see if there had been any new development in the situation. They stepped closer to listen in, and as they observed they discovered the missing key. Their eyes widened and they looked at each other. Mouthing back and forth that neither had the key, they started to move away. Neither said a word out loud in case Casey and Derek overheard. If those two learned of the little problem, and ever got out, Lizzie and Edwin were definitely dead.

-+-+-+-

"This is all your fault." Casey groaned.

"Ha!" Derek scoffed, "Funny, Case."

Casey scowled, "I'm _dead_ serious, Derek."

"This is not my fault." Derek shook his head, "If anything, it's _your_ fault."

Casey's mouth fell open, "_My_ fault?! How is this my fault?"

"Oh, come on Casey!" Derek threw his hands up as best he could with the height of the roof. He then brought one hand down to point at Casey, "If you didn't nit pick everything I do…"

"Well if you would just _try_ and put some effort into something _productive_…" Casey retorted.

"Eck," Derek rolled his eyes. "If you would just stop thinking you can boss me around however you please…"

"Boss you around? As if The Great Derek Venturi would ever listen to anything I have to say. You know, that's part of the problem…"

"_Will you two just shut up already?"_ Edwin suddenly yelled.

"_This whole fight for superiority is getting old._" Lizzie added.

"Ed—"

"Lizzie—"

"Open the door!" Casey and Derek both yelled.

"_No can do_." Edwin responded earnestly.

"Look, we'll stop fighting. Won't we, _Derek_?" Casey negotiated. She gave Derek an encouraging nod to make him play along.

"_Yes_." Derek agreed through gritted teeth, "Now, Edwin, open the door."

"_I repeat: No. Can. Do._"

"And why not?" Derek questioned angrily.

"_It seems someone's scampered off with the key."_ Lizzie answered after a long hesitation.

Derek and Casey looked at each other and realization dawned on them at once, "MARTI!"

"Oh this is just wonderful. _Wonderful!_" Casey exclaimed. "Not only are we _locked in_, but they've _lost_ the _key_!"

"Thanks for that. I really need the situation to be explained to me a second time around." Derek grumbled.

"Oh, shut up!" Casey snapped.

"Why don't you?" Derek shouted back.

"_Why don't both of you?_" Lizzie threw out.

"ARGH!" Casey growled. "This is a complete _nightmare!_"

"Here let me pinch you, see if you wake up." Derek approached her.

Casey backed up a step before she reached the back of the room. They had been awkwardly close before, but now he was practically on top of her. "If you touch me, so help me, you will not make it out of this room alive."

Derek smirked, "Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?"

"_This is not helping._" Edwin said in a tone that implied that he was rolling his eyes—obviously annoyed.

Lizzie was then prompted to add, _"We have bigger problems than that."_

"Well the easy solution would be to find Marti." Casey suggested. "Which shouldn't be too hard seeing as we're on a boat in the middle of the ocean."

"_We'll try and find her." _Edwin replied. _"Make yourselves comfortable."_

"Ha ha." Derek mocked laughter.

-+-+-+-

Eventually Casey slumped down to sit on the floor and leaned against the back wall of the room. Derek did the same a moment later, leaning against the door and facing her. They each had their legs stretched out, so they were slightly touching, but there wasn't enough room to separate. However, neither complained about the unwanted physical contact. In fact, it was the first time they had been completely silent since the door had been locked on them. They just sat there, silently thinking over their situation.

Finally, Casey spoke up quietly, "This is your fault, you know."

"How is that?" Derek responded calmly, too drained to begin another fight over the comment.

"If you hadn't followed me in here, they wouldn't have gotten the idea to lock us in." Casey answered, "They wouldn't have had the opportunity either."

"Well, I wouldn't have followed you if you hadn't called me _repulsive_." Derek countered, still in an even voice. This was a conversation, not an argument.

Casey sighed, "I wouldn't have called you repulsive if you hadn't felt the need to steal my sandwich, which by the way was the reason I came in here, to get a snack."

"I wouldn't have stolen your sandwich, if I wasn't hungry!" Derek exclaimed, and then they both paused for a minute before bursting out laughing.

"Our fights are really pointless aren't they?" Casey said through the laughter that continued to bubble up minutes later.

"Yeah." Derek nodded, "Sometimes."

"I'm sorry." Casey breathed.

"Me too." Derek smiled.

After a moment of silence, Casey tilted her head to the side, "Why do we fight like that? It never gets us anywhere and we certainly aren't happy because of it."

"I don't know." Derek shrugged, "It's what we do. Like a hobby."

"Not a very cheerful hobby." Casey muttered.

Derek watched her closely, with his brow furrowed. "If you're really not happy, then we'll stop."

"Just like that?" Casey frowned.

"Just like that." Derek nodded.

"How do you propose we do that?" Casey asked sincerely.

Derek shrugged, "We just stop."

"Easier said than done." Casey whispered.

"Well, we've been sitting here being civil to each other for this long. I think we could do it."

A small smile began to form on Casey's lips, "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Derek smirked, a smug expression settling on his features.

Casey laughed, rolling her eyes, and nudged him playfully with on of her feet. Derek was laughing right along with her and he nudged her right back with one of his feet. It was a mystery to both of them how they had suddenly been able to get along. Being trapped in a glorified box with someone must do something to people. The jovial atmosphere made something click in Derek and before he could stop himself he was leaning forward and capturing Casey's lips with his in a soft kiss. It was fleeting, but she was able to kiss him back for a moment before he pulled back. Before either could say a word about what had happened, the door suddenly sprung open.

"We found her hiding in the closet, not surprisingly the only room on this boat smaller than this one." Edwin replied, as Marti peeked sheepishly around from behind him.

Derek leaped up and walked past Edwin, Lizzie and Marti. "Took you long enough."

Casey stood up and followed him out, trying to not show anything that had happened in the last few minutes on her face. She kept her eyes lowered and head down as they moved away from the room. "Thank you for getting us out, even though it was _you_ who locked us in there on the first place and somehow allowed for Marti to get her hands on the only key."

Lizzie flushed, "Sorry about that. But it worked, didn't it?"

"I see you aren't fighting anymore." Edwin commented.

"Yeah, well…" Casey started.

"We called a ceasefire because we found we had a common enemy." Derek stepped forward, shrugging slightly, and put an arm around Casey's shoulders. "If you ever get any ideas like that again," He looked to Casey for confirmation and she nodded, "We promise you will regret it."

Lizzie and Edwin's eyes widened and they immediately turned and retreated into one of the other rooms, followed closely by Marti.

Derek then turned to Casey, a smirk playing on his lips, "Now that there's no chance that we'll get stuck inside with no escape, I'm beginning to think there might be some very favorable purposes that room may serve."

Casey lips formed a smirk that could rival any Venturi.

**A/N2:** So not liking how this turned out. Not only is it late, it's so below my usual standards. Not that I'm trying to be any kind of conceited, but I know I can do better than this. Plus, I kind of lost the whole fact that they were on a boat somewhere in the middle. However, here it is. Jo please do not hate me for totally butchering a very good prompt. R&R. Thanks. –Mac


End file.
